Saying that Palin has zero following among conservatives is clearly not true, but neither is it remotely true that she is the face and soul of the Republican party, which I agree with RT is indeed what a lot of people seem to suggest or even say out loud. She has a sizeable following, and every interest in making that following appear much larger than it really is, but still, it's significant.

And as you admitted, it's quite natural for the many conservatives who don't like her to want to minimize the talking about her, and to get annoyed when her influence is overstated, or when people attack the Republicans or conservatives because of things Palin (or Angle, or O'Donnell) says or does. And the Democrats and liberal media are definitely doing both of those things on a regular basis.

So, you know, I'm not sure you two really disagree all that much in your assessment of Palin's importance or lack thereof...